


I Wrote It For You

by aprilvolition



Category: The Pretender
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-28 16:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/309896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aprilvolition/pseuds/aprilvolition
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm writing a different ending, Jarod."</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Wrote It For You

With every step she was closer to freedom. The Centre's double doors stood out like a beacon; memories danced across her mind and then into the ether as she made her way towards them.

 _She hadn't wasted a bullet on Raines. She'd wanted him to die slowly; to listen as his kingdom fell. She'd cut off his oxygen and made sure he wasn't in reach of another source. She watched as he'd gasped for air and wheezed out his parting shot asking her how she could betray her own family. With a harsh and unforgiving smile she replied "It's in my blood."_

The sunlight on the other side of the glass doors seemed impossibly bright. It consumed the world outside until she could not see what she was walking towards. But for once the unknown held more promise than any of the truths she'd found.

 _It had been chaos and she'd created it. Explosions had rocked the entire building but they were small and designed to distract not obliterate. The gunfire had started not long after; red emergency lighting the only illumination as they waged a war. One that would leave no one standing._

Her gun felt heavy in her hand and her grip loosened but she didn't let it fall. Not yet. She put one foot in front of the other as she felt the warm liquid seep faster from beneath her hand. And the memories continued to bleed out of her.

 _An old fashion duel. They both stepped from behind their cover and twin shots rang out and blended together. Lyle fell to the ground and didn't get back up. While her aim had been truer his hadn't missed._

Her legs are heavy and she isn't sure how it is she's still moving. Pain lances through her with every footfall, but a lifetime of it has prepared her for this moment. She can see the concrete through the doors now and her eyes are focused on getting to the other side.

 _She drugged Angelo, and Sam had helped get him out a couple days before. The following day, two leads came in on Jarod. She sent Sydney and Broots in one direction while she supposedly went in the other. He wouldn't be at either. Debbie would be on a flight towards them at the same time Sam returned from tucking Angelo safely away. And everything would be set in motion._

Her arms were in reach of the doors. She didn't have the strength to push them. So she took the last few steps and leaned on the door with her whole body leaving a bloody smear on the glass as she did. The light blinded her as it opened and the fresh air took her breath away.

 _Their last phone call was not long before it all started. He'd called Sydney and discovered they were on a wild goose chase not of his making._

 _"What's going on Parker?" His voice had an edge to it. Angry, maybe desperate._

 _"I'm writing a different ending, Jarod." She hadn't known what else to say. There was too much unsaid between them and not enough time in the world._

 _"When?" The question was asked as though he was afraid of the answer._

 _"Soon. Don't worry, I've covered all the bases. It's all waiting for you, all the answers I could get."_

 _"Fuck the answers! Don't do this wait for me!" She'd never heard him be so crass and the pain in his voice caused the tears to fall. They slipped silently down her cheeks as she told him goodbye and he'd called her name, her name, as she flipped the phone closed._

She stumbled out into the day and felt the sunlight warm her like her mother's love once had. The smell of the ocean sparked a sense of peace where it had once always meant she was closer to hell. Her gun finally slipped from her hand to the concrete below and she felt as though the last weight was lifted. Her last tether to this world, this life, was gone. And one last memory flitted across her mind before it all fell away.

 _A little girl's laughter, because she was free._


End file.
